


Catching Up

by Keldae



Series: The Family Business [6]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Clan Taerich, Gen, I know I still need to finish The Family Business, Zakuul, cross-posted from tumblr, kotfe, mention of Male Imperial Agent, mention of Male Sith Inquisitor, mention of Male Smuggler, referenced Theron Shan/Female Jedi Knight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-17 00:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12353460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keldae/pseuds/Keldae
Summary: There's far too much to even try to summarize half a decade's worth of events, forget letting a one-time Jedi Master process her losses.





	Catching Up

It had been a rough day for Jedi Battlemaster Xaja Taerich. Only mere hours ago, she’d been broken out of a carbonite block, and had almost immediately died of the long-term carbon poisoning plaguing her body (and she still wasn’t sure what exactly Lana had injected her with to keep her alive, but the cure had hurt almost as much as the disease!). Once she’d survived the thawing out process, she’d immediately been tossed her old lightsabers and had to fight her way out of the Spire with Lana, only briefly catching glimpses of Tee-Seven as her little droid had scuttled about, apparently on Lana’s orders. And while Lana could plan a good rescue op, this hadn’t been one of them, and the Sith had had to drag her Jedi rescuee all over the damned Spire, trying to find a new rendezvous for their escape pilot to meet them at (and Xaja thought Lana had found the snarkiest pilot to ever take control of any shuttle, and she included her brother on that list). Then there’d been the combat upgrade from the endless Skytrooper legions to the two Knights of Zakuul, both of whom had escaped, then the encounter with Vaylin (Xaja wasn’t sure what exactly had happened while she’d been frozen to make Vaylin’s name feared, but anyone who could make Lana sound that scared was not somebody the Jedi wanted to encounter), then crashing into the Zakuul swamps and finding a derelict ancient alien warship with a new droid in tow who, if Xaja didn’t know better, had to be a repainted version of the HK-47 droid that Revan had been reputed to have, even down to calling everyone ‘meatbag’.

On top of everything else, she’d had a splitting headache and felt like she was going to throw up all day, and that was _before_ Koth had spilled the metaphorical beans about five years of her life being gone.

Xaja was still trying to wrap her head around the idea as she and Lana trekked through the swamp, seeking out fresh water and supplies. The Sith had had a couple of protein bars on her, but once they’d made it into Koth’s shuttle (before it had crash-landed) she’d pressed them into Xaja’s hands. “You’ve been without any sustenance for a far longer time, Master Taerich,” the blonde said. “You need those more than I do.” And Lana had been right- the bland, flavourless rations had done much to soothe the upset cramping in Xaja’s empty stomach. But nothing could quite ease the anxiety that still coursed through the Jedi’s body, especially now with Lana grimly recounting the details of Zakuul’s conquest. “… When Saresh found out, she had the Senators in question disgraced or dismissed. She’s still trying to continue the war with the Sith Empire despite the arms limitations and the fact that she could not extend her term any further. There’s a puppet chancellor in place now who takes her orders.”

“What of the Empire?”

“The members of the Dark Council resisted, and failed utterly. Only Darth Acina still lives, and she’s taken the mantle of Sith Empress-”

Xaja’s face drained of all colour as she grabbed Lana’s arm, stopping the Sith from walking. “ _All_  of the Dark Council? What of Darth Imperius? My brother?”

The pity in Lana’s gaze nearly broke Xaja. “All of the others of the Dark Council were killed or went missing. But your brother wasn’t a casualty of the Eternal Fleet. The Wrath found out about you and your connection to him.”

“Darth Maglion,” Xaja whispered, her heart plunging into her stomach in a way that it hadn’t since Master Orgus had been killed.

“Your father’s brother.” Lana nodded in confirmation. “It didn’t matter that you’re blood kin too or that you’re still legally considered dead across the rest of the galaxy- for Imperius to know you existed and refuse to turn you to the Empire’s service or kill you himself was nothing short of treason. And that’s before his active rebellion against Vitiate, who Maglion is devoted to despite what happened at Yavin and Ziost…”

Xaja crumpled to her knees, grief for her youngest brother making her chest hurt and her vision blurry. “How?”

“He’s the Wrath. It didn’t take him too long to find where Sorand lived.” Lana knelt beside Xaja and rested a hand on her shoulder. “If it’s any comfort to you, Sorand’s wife and children were never targeted. They’re still safe with her people on Mandalore.”

The Jedi took a shaky breath and rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes, trying to clear her tear-obscured vision. “… My father?” she finally asked, her voice unsteady. “Korin?”

“I don’t know,” Lana confessed. “Your father went completely off the grid after Sorand was killed. He’s a spy who's made his living from being undetectable- it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s fleeing your uncle or planning revenge for what happened to your brother… or to you. And Korin has always been difficult to track, even before the Eternal Fleet’s attack. The last I heard, he was in the Outer Rim, but that was some time ago. Rumour has it he’s attempting the Rishi Maze to get away from Zakuul.”

Xaja wrapped her arms around her slim frame in a vain attempt to cease her uncontrollable shaking. Five years gone and her family had been torn to shreds, possibly all killed. The redhead had never felt so alone in her life, not even when Arcann betrayed her after freeing her so she could kill Valkorion (pretty much literally over Darth Marr’s dead body). Questions rose in her throat, along with the threat to throw those ration bars back up, and she had to fight to get words out. “… My crew?” she finally asked.

“We’ve been looking for them. Tee-Seven’s ownership automatically transitioned back to the Order when you were declared dead, but I managed to get him into working to get you free. I believe Sergeant Rusk was transferred back to active rotation in the Republic Military, Knight Carsen vanished with the rest of the Order, and I have not been able to locate Doctor Kimble or Lord Scourge.”

One more question lingered in Xaja’s throat, the answer one that she both desperately needed and dreaded hearing… the one answer that could break her utterly or give her a reason to keep fighting. “And Theron? Where is he? Is he-?”

“I’ve seen Theron within the last few months. He’s still alive.” Lana paused in a way that made Xaja’s heart thud dully in her chest. “If my attempt to rescue you failed, he had the backup plan, and if that failed I think he would have burned the Spire down to get you back. I think he’s the only person who wanted you freed from there even more than I did. He… he didn’t take the news of your death well. Until we learned you were a prisoner and not dead, I think he’d given up the will to live, to be honest…”

Theron was alive. That was the first good news Xaja had heard since her rescue, beside the note that her brother’s family was safe. She took a shaky breath and wiped away another tear from her pale cheek, knowing she was showing Lana a very vulnerable, hurt side to a Jedi legend and not able to care. Her family torn apart, the Order scattered, her first friends Force-knew-where in the galaxy (if they even still lived), and her former lover apparently half-mad with grief, and five years of her life were gone and this hurt more than any Jedi should have admitted to…

Lana rubbed Xaja’s shoulder in a comforting fashion as she stood up. “I know it hurts, but do you think you’re able to continue moving? Scans show one more area that we may be able to check for supplies, and it’s not wise to stay in one spot in this jungle for too long, even without the Skytroopers hunting us.”

Xaja took another slow inhale, thought for a minute, and slowly nodded.  _Focus._  “Okay. What’s the status now with the rest of the galaxy? What is Zakuul doing?” It was easier to think about what the enemy’s movements were than to dwell too long on her destroyed family and friends.  _Why you, Sorand? Your spirit was the only one to survive Korriban without being consumed by hatred for the Jedi. You didn’t deserve this! Are Dad and Korin still alive? Kira, Doc, Scourge, Rusk…_

_Theron… where are you?_


End file.
